Craving a doughnut on the journey

Lights, Cameras, Ruff

Snaking through and inquiring at nearly every door in one of the buildings at the Russell Industrial Center eventually led the way to a uniquely interactive visit. Surfaces of varied heights served as screens for delayed playback projections of digitized blue and grey hues which filled Jason Ruff’s studio space. At the end of the passage the artist adjusted an overhanging light with aluminum foil. His focal point was a massively webbed sphere of gold, silver, and other metal oxides blended together to yield a pale sea green with white streams.

After getting off the ladder, long wavy locks swept out of Ruff’s face as he described a formulaic process for completing each sculpture. Then he quickly encouraged a view of the main projection space where spidery beams stretched to hold cameras and lights. Slowly the recording of your movement became evident; but the moment you tried to be face to face with your own projection, it would disappear. Only a glimpse could be caught if you turned just quickly enough.

Relishing the videogame aesthetic continued as more people trickled in to guess at which point they could see their faces on the projection walls. Some people went toward the glass fixtures while others went in search of wine and beer. Upon turning to exit, there was hardly a sign of the ladder and artist, which made the experience a bit like trying to catch a little white rabbit.